Homeschool Week in Review--The One that Got a Little Squirmy

We have reached the final week of our Gardens unit study and I have to say, we are a little sad to see it all wrapped up! We adore our regular curriculum, but this unit study has been nothing but enjoyable for all of us (well, except for one of us).We've learned about everything from gardens of former presidents to what makes a seed burst into a seedling.  We've learned about why earthworms are good for the soil and plants and the contributions of George Washington Carver and W. Atlee Burpee to the world of botany and horticulture. We've taken trips to the strawberry patch and the arboretum, made crafts, and prepared and planted our backyard garden while also delving into some indoor container gardening as well.  It's been a very rich experience.

This week we focused more on gardening itself rather than other people and places relating to them.  We learned about the different types and components of soil,

different kinds of flowers,

we made lists of the types of vegetables and flowers we would plant in our own garden,

learned about the different organic materials that can be used for mulch,

and we about the differences between botanical gardens and arboretums while exploring the National Botanical Garden and Arboretum online.

Gabby's picture of an arboretum

Midweek, we took a field trip to the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville.  The flowers, shrubbery, gardens, and trees were gorgeous and we had a great time exploring as much of the over 400 acre property that we could squeeze into our day.  We plan to go back again soon to continue our explorations!  There were greenhouses, an educational center, trails and much more. 

Gabby added some souvenirs from our trip to her garden journal.

We also read and watched online videos about the White House gardens.  I really enjoyed learning about all the various trees and such that were planted by different presidents throughout the years that are still maintained to this day.

Gabby's rendering of the White House

We also learned about W. Atlee Burpee and how his mail order chicken business grew into the massive seed corporation it is today.

I forgot to mention that the children attended another Build and Grow Clinic at Lowe's Hardware where they built me a Mother's Day gift.

They even purchased some oregano and parsley for me to grow in them :)

To close out the week, we learned about two creatures that contribute to the health and growth of gardens: earthworms and ladybugs.

I had to laugh in the face of my city girl-ness and put another notch in my "southern girl" belt by making a worm farm with the children.

After drawing a picture of a ladybug in her journal, we took school outside and had some craft time. :)

We have been redoing the flowerbeds out front and had pulled out all of the rocks that lined the edges of them in order to access them better.  We picked three of the rocks to paint to make ladybugs to decorate the edges of our flower beds once we are finished with the renovations.

We also finished The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett and watched the movie(both of which are my copies from childhood) to put the final touch on our unit.

We'll be returning to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, but we've had fun (again!) with this unit study from Amanda Bennett.

What's going on in your school?

Resources:
About Earthworms:
Nature Close Up: Earthworms
Deep Down Underground by Olivier Dunrea

About Ladybugs:
A Ladybug's Life by John Himmelman
Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright by Mia Posada
Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen
Ladybug by Karen Hartley

About Trees and Flowers:
North American Wildlife: Wildflowers A Reader's Digest Field Guide
Smithsonian Handbooks: Trees by Allen J. Coombes 
 

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